UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

JUN 1 5 2012 

THE ADMINISTRATOR 

Mark Mitchell, M.D. 

Chairman, Vulnerable Populations Workgroup 

National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology 

Mitchell Environmental Health Associates 

P.O. Box 1421 

Hartford, Connecticut 06143 

Dear Dr. Mitchell: 

I would like to thank you and the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology 

for your February 15, 2012, advice letter on technologies for environmental-justice communities and 

other vulnerable populations. I commend the advisory council for developing such a thoughtful and 

practical set of recommendations for the types of technologies needed to help address the environmental 

problems facing these special populations. The supporting case studies provide valuable insights into 

real-world environmental-justice issues and the potential for technologies to better characterize and 

mitigate risks to human health and the environment. 

In your letter, you recommended that the EPA develop appropriate detection, communication and 

solution technologies and deploy these technologies in partnership with communities. You also offered a 

number of recommendations for game-changing next steps, such as establishing a public-private task 

force to provide strategic advice to the EPA, reaching out to other federal agencies and communicating 

with communities about the progress on these activities. 

I am pleased to report that the EPA is already implementing some of your recommendations. For 

example, the EPA is actively engaged in the rapidly evolving area of environmental sensors. The EPA in 

March 2012 sponsored a conference on low-cost, portable air-pollution sensors for use by individuals, 

organizations, researchers and government agencies. From community-based efforts in New York City 

and West Oakland, Calif., to updates from the European Union, the presentations covered 

groundbreaking developments for smartphone sensors, network sensors and social network-based datasharing and display technologies. The talks and small group discussions were highly interactive and 

have already resulted in new collaborations among leaders in the field. Several participants are 

developing an air-quality-sensing network that has attracted crowdsourced funding from many small 

contributors online. 

Building on the momentum from this effort, the EPA plans to further investigate how we can promote 

collaboration and accelerate development and use of inexpensive, highly portable air-pollution sensors. 

A second workshop for the EPA regional offices and other interested groups, to be held in November 

2012, will focus on current and emerging technologies for the near-source and fenceline monitoring of 

air pollutants. 

Internet Address (URL) • http://www.epa.gov 


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The EPA's work on environmental sensors is part of a broader focus on fostering innovative research. 

The Office of Research and Development is testing open innovation, which uses crowdsourcing to find 

solutions to fill gaps in EPA science and technology needs. Additionally, a number of activities have 

been initiated to increase collaboration across scientific disciplines and create partnerships between 

scientists and practitioners, such as environmental-justice communities. 

As noted in your letter, NACEPT's recommendations are consistent with the activities described in the 

"Science Tools" chapter of the EPA's Plan EJ 2014. One of these activities is the EPA's work with the 

National Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to establish a research workgroup that will provide 

advice on the EPA's environmental-justice-related research on health impacts, environmental risks and 

differential exposures that directly relate to environmental justice. The recommendations developed by 

NACEPT will be an invaluable resource for the NEJAC working group to consider in its deliberations. 

Plan EJ 2014 also includes actions to promote community-based participatory research, encourage 

leveraging partnerships with other federal agencies on research to address environmental and health 

disparities, and strengthen the technical capacity of EPA scientists conducting research in partnership 

with impacted communities. 

I am committed to ensuring that the EPA leads by example in expanding the conversation on 

environmental justice and taking actions to ensure that all Americans enjoy the same level of 

environmental protection. Environmental-justice communities and other vulnerable populations rely on 

the EPA to help address their needs. Providing tools that individuals, communities and organizations can 

use to effectively detect, monitor and assess pollutants is critically important. Clearly, the council's 

recommendations speak to these priorities and inform a number of EPA efforts now under way. In the 

months ahead, we will continue to explore additional ways in which the EPA can identify the potential 

for technologies to better inform environmental-justice communities and vulnerable populations. 

Again, I thank you and the NACEPT members for your hard work on this important effort and your 

continued support ofthe EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. 

Sincerely,